International News

Jan 01, 2019

9:24PM

US, Israel quit UNESCO citing bias

The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018.

The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel.

America has demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War II to foster peace.

Israel joined the agency in 1949. It is best known for its World Heritage program, which designates cultural sites and aims to preserve traditions.

UNESCO also works to improve education for girls, promote understanding of the Holocaust's horrors, and to defend media freedom.

The withdrawals will not greatly impact UNESCO financially since it has been dealing with a funding slash ever since 2011 when both Israel and the US stopped paying dues after Palestine was voted in as a member state.